MCHD RECEIVES AWARD FROM AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION FOR 5TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR

June 20, 2019

For Immediate RELEASE

 

For More Information, please contact: 

Misti Willingham, Public Information Officer

C:  936.537.0611

DATE:  June 18, 2019

 

MCHD RECEIVES award from american heart association for 5th consecutive year

 

CONROE – Montgomery County Hospital District is pleased to announce it has received the American Heart Association’s 2019 Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Plus Award. This is the 5th consecutive year MCHD has received this recognition; it’s the 3rd consecutive year for the Gold Plus level award. This achievement illustrates MCHD’s commitment to providing evidence-based treatment guidelines to care for heart attack (STEMI) patients while meeting high standards of performance.

Every year, more than 250,000 people experience an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the deadliest type of heart attack, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. To prevent death, it’s critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication.

The Mission: Lifeline initiative provides tools, training and other resources to support heart attack care following protocols from the most recent evidence-based treatment guidelines. Mission: Lifeline’s EMS recognition program recognizes emergency medical services for their efforts in improving systems of care to rapidly identify suspected heart attack patients, promptly notify the medical center and trigger an early response from the awaiting hospital personnel.

“This is truly an accomplishment that belongs to every provider at MCHD and speaks to the relationships we have with our hospital partners,” said MCHD Cardiac Coordinator Brad Ward. “Everything has to work together in just the right way to make this system of care work.”

“EMTs and paramedics play a vital part in the system of care for those who have heart attacks,” said Tim Henry, M.D., Chair of the Mission: Lifeline Acute Coronary Syndrome Subcommittee. “Since they often are the first medical point of contact, they can save precious minutes of treatment time by activating the emergency response system that alerts hospitals to an incoming heart attack patient. We applaud Montgomery County Hospital District for achieving this award in following evidence-based guidelines in the treatment of people who have severe heart attacks.”

About Mission: Lifeline

The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for acute coronary syndrome patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology clinical treatment guidelines.  For more information, visit heart.org.

Montgomery County Hospital District’s mission is to care for the indigent and provide EMS services while protecting the interest of taxpayers and ensuring long-term stability through fund development.  For more information about MCHD, please go to www.mchd-tx.org.